The Brave Queen of Gilgit

 The Brave Queen of Gilgit

Long, long ago, in a land of tall mountains and sparkling rivers, there was a beautiful fort called Gilgit. It sat high on a hill, like a crown on a king's head. The people of Gilgit were happy, and they were ruled by a kind and brave queen named Mirzéy Juwāri.

Queen Juwāri was a wise ruler. She had a little son named Abi Khān, whom she loved more than all the stars in the sky. Every day, she would tell him stories of his brave father, a great king, and promise that one day, the fort would be his to protect.

But one day, a huge army came marching towards Gilgit. It was the army of the mighty Mughals, and they surrounded the fort. They looked like a wall of shiny metal and stern faces. The people inside the fort grew worried. They looked to their queen for help.

Queen Juwāri stood on the highest wall of the fort. She was not afraid for herself, but she was afraid for her little son and her people. She looked down at the army and then at her sleeping boy, Abi Khān.

That night, as the stars began to twinkle, she sat by her son's bed and sang a soft, sad song. It was a song about her heart.

She sang, "Oh, I am a daughter of a brave king, but I am just a woman, like a delicate sugar cup. The world can be dangerous, and many wish to take what is mine. My important place has brought these enemies to our door."

She looked at her sleeping son, and a tear rolled down her cheek. She continued to sing, "Oh, my dear Abi Khān, my son, for whom I would give my own life... I have sacrificed you. Instead of keeping the fort safe for you, the morning star, which shines when things are lost, has risen for you."

Her song was not one of giving up. It was a song of a mother's fierce love. It was a song of a queen who was ready to do anything to protect her child and her home.

The next morning, Queen Juwāri did not hide. With her head held high, she went to talk to the leaders of the Mughal army. No one knows what she said, but the story goes that she was so brave and clever that she saved her son and her people. The morning star had risen, but Queen Juwāri, the brave mother of Gilgit, shone even brighter.

Poem: Gilgit Fort

 

High on the hill stood Gilgit’s fort,

A queen kept watch by its shining door.

Around it marched the Mughal band,

But brave Queen Juwāri held the land.

 

She sang to son Abi Khān, her dear,

“My love shines bright, though foes are near.

The morning star has come to say:

A mother’s love will find a way.”